Forest of Creatures
by PureWolf
Summary: Next to the Village of Rikkaidai there is a forest where creatures dwell, some evil and some good. 6 years ago a boy and his wolf went in and never returned. Since then no has entered due to the myth that is told in the villages, most people believe but some do not. That was until some of the non-believers realized just how true it was... (AU) A/N: First book please review!
1. Introduction: The Myth behind it all

"_Sometimes the worst thing in life is having to deal with life itself…"_

Deep in the forest there is a pathway that no one dares to take, afraid of the horrors that might lurk in it. They say there are terrible creatures that would not hesitate to take you so that you will never be able to see the light again. Many people believe this tale, only few do not take it seriously. People have never wondered in to the forest afraid of what might happen to them if they did, the myths and stories their parents and friends would tell them kept them from ever wanting to follow the path. You see the myth went like this.

_There was once a boy the age of 6 that wondered into the forest to search for his pet wolf, once he followed the path he didn't come back. The next night the village people were getting worried, the boy was one of the villages most loved children. His parents died in a tragic accident and he was left alone the only family he had left was his beloved wolf, Silver. The village people were brought to smiles when seeing him, he was an adorable little boy and always cheerful he could brighten anyone's day. The most interesting thing about the boy were his eyes, they were a striking Lime Green color, it was odd to say the least yet no one ever told him that. Though he didn't have any friends he was usually seen playing with the younger children, talking to Silver, or listening to the Village Chief play the flute. The young boy was fascinated by many things but none more so than the tales of mythical creatures. They say he would visit the Village Elders almost everyday to hear stories about the creatures. They would often tease him and ask if he himself was one. The boy smile and answer with a, 'No, but if I was I wonder what I would be.' then go and look for the younger children. _

_His pet wolf was always seen with him, as if he were to leave the boy something terrible would happen. They were inseparable where ever the boy went, Silver would always follow like a Guardian Angel. Silver was a almost full-grown male wolf and had a kind and gentle nature. He was Black with a Silver streak on his forehead that was shaped like a crescent moon, while he had eyes the color of Blue. Silver would always help out when needed with the boy, they would help carry things for the village people. The boy would never ask for anything in return but always left with some food. Since the boy was not old enough to manage on his own very well, Silver often helped him in tasks that were difficult._

_One day the boy was talking with one of the younger children when he noticed that the wolf was walking into the forest. The boy excused himself with a smile and ran to catch up to his most trusted friend. When they entered the forest, the boy took once last glance back at the village and followed the wolf deeper into the forest. Hours passed but the boy nor the wolf ever emerged from the line of trees. Then a scream was heard and a monstrous howl echoed after. The village stopped in everything they were doing, the scream they knew came from the boy but the howl was not that of Silver's. They knew then and there that the wolf and the boy were in danger, but there was nothing they could do, whatever creature had made that sound had gotten to them first. The creature was most likely not alone either so the village people knew the boy and his best friend were gone._

_To this day it is said, that at night if you look at the forest you can see the glow of two pairs of eyes, one Lime Green the other Blue. Some nights you can even hear a scream and monstrous howl echo from the forest. So be wary if you go into the forest for if you travel to deep or even a couple of yards away, you may suffer the same fate as the boy and his wolf, never to see the light again..._

That is what is written in almost every villages history, so that the Village Chief's can keep their people safe. No one has entered the forest since then and probably ever will for a long time. Though who knows what can happen in this time, for as stated before, few do not take the myth seriously. So stay inside your villages boundaries and never stray away into the Forest of Creatures...

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><p>AN: I forgot to do this so…

Silver: Bark!

TB (The Boy): Silver says Pure doesn't own Prince of Tennis! Only Me, him and the other OC's!

Pure: Please Review! This was the introduction, so the official first chapter will be out later!


	2. The Truth

"Regular"

'Thoughts'

_Flashback_

**Different Language**

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><p><strong>Pure: Hello again Readers! I have finished the official first Chapter, Yay! I'm so sorry for the long wait for this chapter, please forgive me! The Boy, if you would so kindly do the disclaimer.<strong>

**TB: PureWolf does NOT own Prince of Tennis! The only thing she owns is us OC's and her Idea for this story.**

**Silver: *Howls***

**TB: Oh right! And her insane imagination *Smiles cutely***

**Pure: Thank you The Boy (Who's name you'll find out in this chapter) and Silver!**

**TB: So I'm not going to be 'The Boy' anymore? *Tilts his head to the side***

**Pure: Nope! Now on with the first chapter! *Disappears in a cloud of smoke***

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><p><em>"Sometimes the worst thing about life is having to deal with life itself..."<em>

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><p>The wind wiped in through the open window waking up the occupant of the bedroom, 13 year old Kirihara Akaya. He groaned as he ran a hand through his messy black hair, his green eyes fogged over in drowsiness. He looked at the window wondering why the damned thing was open in the first place. He climbed out of his bed to close the window when he noticed something…strange. Near the window there were claw marks that trailed from the side of the window. 'What the hell?' Akaya thought. He unconsciously reached out his hand and trailed over the marks with his fingertips. 'What could have cause this? More importantly…how the hell did it get into my room!?' He asked himself mentally.<p>

As he pondered this, Yukimura walked into Akayas' room from the upstairs hall in their teams' base. You see in every village there is a group of Knights/Warriors who fight off the enemies and supposed Wild/Evil Creatures that venture into their village. Yukimura is Captain of the Rikkaidai Knights in the village of Rikkaidai, (A/N: You probably already knew that though!) while Sanada is the Vice-Captain. Even though they are only 13, In Akayas' case, and 14 in the rest of the teams' case.

"Ah, good to see you're awake Akaya." Yukimura smiled at the baby of the team.

"Yeah…" Akaya said only half paying attention.

"Akaya what's wrong?" Yukimura asked walking towards his side.

"Mura-Buchou, what did this come from?" Akaya answered with a question.

"What did what come from Akay-" Yukimura cut off as he saw what Akaya was so mesmerized about.

"Akaya why didn't you inform me or the others of this." Yukimura asked his tone turning stern.

"I just found it by my window when I woke up!" Akaya defended.

"Genichirou!" Yukimura called.

Soon footsteps could be heard coming down the hall, yet it was more than one pair. The door opened as Sanada Genichirou entered the room, and stepped aside to avoid Niou Masaharu and Marui Bunta as they barged into the room. The footsteps stopped as Yanagi Renji, Yagyuu Hiroshi and Jackal Kuwahara entered after them.

"What happened Seiichi?" Sanada questioned as he walked up.

"Genichirou, look at what Akaya found this morning." Yukimura said stepping to the side so that he could see the marks.

Sanada nodded and walked over to where Akaya was, the boy still mesmerized by the markings, and halted as he studied them.

"There not the claw marks of any animal I've ever seen." Sanada answered and looked towards Yanagi.

"Renji do you recognize these marks?" He questioned.

Yanagi walked forward and examined the marks as he thought of logical answers.

"Hmm…they're not the marks of any animal I know." Yanagi stated as he turned to face the others.

"What…could have caused this…?" Akaya asked quietly, repeating the question he had asked himself earlier in his mesmerized state.

The others turned to the youngest member, who was tracing his right hand fingers over the marks. Akaya ran his hand across the claw marks once more and froze. He sharply turned to them and looked at them with fear.

"Do you think it was from one of those Mythical Creatures!" He exclaimed looking at them with wide eyes.

"Bakaya don't be stupid, those 'Creatures' don't exist!" Niou laughed as the others nodded in approval.

"Then what else could it of been?!" Akaya questioned as he held his head in frustration.

The rest of the team became silent as they tried to think of a logical answer to that relatively difficult question.

"See! It had to have been an Mythical Creature!" Akaya concluded and looked back at the claw marks.

"Shouldn't we go an talk to the Chief about this?" Jackal asked from beside Marui.

"Yes I think that would probably be the best thing to do." Yagyuu answered as he pushed his glasses up.

The rest of the young warriors agreed and they left their team base, heading for the village Chiefs hut.

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><p>The group of boys halted in front of an old looking, pretty large, hut made of wood. Yukimura stepped forward and knocked once then twice on the door and stepped back waiting for an answer or for the door to open.<p>

"Coming!" A kind voice could be heard from within the hut.

Seconds later the door opened slightly and revealed a man with stark white hair and chocolate brown eyes. The man was pretty tall, around the height of Niou, and was wearing a white long sleeved shirt with a red vest over it with a golden pocket watch hanging out of the pocket with black pants. The man looked at them then smiled and opened the door all the way.

"Ah boys, nice to see you! Come in, come in!" The Chief beckoned them as he turned and walked in to the hut.

The boys smiled, except Sanada who nodded, and walked into the hut with Jackal closing the door behind them.

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><p>Once they were all seated in the living area of the hut the Chief sat in a wooden chair with intricate carvings, and looked at them with a smile.<p>

"It's been awhile since you boys have come to visit me. What brings you here so out of the blue?" The Chief asked as he looked at them.

"Well Chief-." Yukimura started but was quickly cut off.

"Come now! You don't have to call me that, just call me Engo!" Engo chuckled good-naturedly.

Engo is the type of Chief who is kind to all of his villagers and is almost always in a good mood. One of the groups' favorite things about him is that he is always kind and considerate.

"Engo-san, we came here to tell you something…. interesting to say the least." Yanagi started.

Engo got a look of confusion on his face as he nodded to show them he was listening.

"Akaya-kun, I think it would be better if you explained since you found it this morning." Yagyuu said.

Akaya nodded and turned back to face Engo with a troubled look.

"Engo-san, I woke up this morning with my window open, but I had closed it before I went to bed." Akaya started as he checked to see if he had Engos' full attention.

"The interesting thing was that… there is claw marks by the window." Akaya continued, using his right hand to scratch the spot where the claw marks were on Engos' window.

Engos' eyes widened slightly and he had a strange look in his eyes as he listened to them.

"Though they aren't from any animals we've ever seen." Marui added crossing his arms.

"I think it's from a Mythical Creature, but the others don't believe me!" Akaya spoke again.

"That's because there are no such things as those "Mythical Creatures", Bakaya!" Niou said and smacked Akaya on the back of the head.

Akaya rubbed the back of his head and glared at Niou, who in turn grinned back at him.

"Engo-san? Are you alright?" Sanada asked, noticing the Chief hadn't spoken.

Engo turned to face them all with a dead-serious look in his eyes.

"Boys would you mind showing this mark to me?" He asked them.

"No, of course you can see it Engo-san." Yukimura answered with no hesitation.

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><p>Once the team was outside the hut they started walking to their base, while Engo trailed behind them speaking to Akaya.<p>

"Akaya, what all do you know about the Mythical Creatures?" Engo asked after a couple of seconds.

Akaya turned to Engo and shrugged his shoulders in response.

"Not much really, but I've heard stories about them from the elders." Akaya answered, as he put his hands behind his head.

"Have you heard of the myth of the boy and his wolf?" Engo asked him seriously.

"I don't think there's a person in this whole village who hasn't!" Marui laughed, as they walked past the village church.

"Yes…. but not everyone knows the _whole_ story." Engo replied.

"What do you mean by "whole story" exactly?" Yanagi asked, as the team base came into view.

"Well there are some things not mentioned in the myth." Engo started as they walked inside.

"Like what?" Niou asked, as they went into the living room and sat down on the bear skinned rug in front of the fireplace.

"Well for example The Boys name." Engo explained, as he himself sat on the couch and everyone was sitting in the room.

"I highly doubt he actually had a name. It's just a myth to keep the kids out of the forest!" Marui voiced his thoughts on the subject.

"I'll tell you right now Marui, it's a true story. I myself was there when it happened, heck I was the Chief back then as well!" Engo said sternly.

"We know that, but then how come we know nothing of this boy or what happened? We were in this village when the myth takes place." Yagyuu questioned.

"Ah, you were out with your mentor, Shimabashi, doing your warrior training. You didn't return until a year later." Engo recalled crossing his legs with a thoughtful expression on his face.

"That's right," Yanagi drawled as he took out his notebook, "Shimabashi-sensei took us to Tenki Valley(1) for our combat and defense training. We were also there so he could asset our survival skills in the different weather." Yanagi finished as he snapped his notebook shut.

"I remember that! That was when we were attacked by that monstrous boar!" Akaya shuddered at the memory.

"Ahem!" Engo coughed in irritation, as they were getting off topic.

"Gomen! Continue Engo-san." Akaya laughed rubbing the back of his head.

"You see the boys name was Ookami Shouta, family name first." Engo continued.

"Shouta, as the myth says, lost his parents in a terrible accident when he was very young, he was 4 when they died." Engo looked at the boys in the room.

"The poor kid, he lost his parents at a very young age." Jackal sighed as his face showed sympathy.

"Yes, but at least he had Silver with him. Silver was all Shouta had left after that, and he took it upon himself to look after the boy like a guardian angel. They understood each other very well." Engo chuckled.

"Could Ookami-kun really understand the wolf?" Yagyuu asked skeptically.

"Yes, he really could understand him. You see, Shouta had this gift that allowed him to talk to and understand animals. Usually when someone needed him or when they checked on him, Shouta was talking to the horses or to Silver. Sometimes he even translated what the animals said to the other children." Engo recalled with a smile.

"What do you mean by 'gift' exactly?" Yanagi questioned.

"Well I wouldn't really call it a gift, but it just seemed as though the boy could understand the animals so easily just by communicating and listening to them." Engo explained.

"So he is basically an animal whisperer?" Niou summed up.

"Yes, but no. Shouta didn't learn to communicate with animals, he's always been able to understand them. Even when he was only 2 years old the first ones who ever realized this, were his parents." Engo explained.

"I think I understand what you're saying Engo-san." Akaya replied with a thoughtful expression on his face.

"Well that's a surprise." Niou smirked.

"I can understand things when I feel like I should, Niou-senpai!" Akaya declared glaring at said person.

"Of course you can, Bakaya." Niou along with Marui rolled his eyes.

"It also says that no one saw what happened to him, but that is a lie. I was looking for him in the woods when I saw a Mythical Creature drag him away. What kills me is that I could do nothing what so ever to help him as he was dragged off along with Silver." Engo continued with a look of grief on his face.

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><p><em>Flashback~<em>

_"Shouta! Where are you, we have to go back to the village!" Engo called out._

_"Hai Oji-san! I'm comi-AHH!" Shouta screamed as a large jet black creature with blood red eyes jumped out in front of him._

_"SHOUTA!" Engo shouted as he started to run towards him._

_"GRRRAAAWWHH!" The creature roared at the boy that had fell to the ground._

_"GRRRRR!" Silver growled, as he stood protectively in front of Shouta._

_"Shouta get out of there!" Engo exclaimed as he neared them._

_"GRAWH!" The creature snarled at him._

_"AH!" Engo grunted._

_The creatures tail had swung and hit Engo into a tree, rendering him from getting closer._

_"Oji-san help!" Shouta pleaded as the creature stalked closer to him._

_"GRRR!" Silver growled ferociously and hurled himself at the creature._

_"Silver no!" Shouta shrieked._

_"GRAWH!" The creature roared, lifting one of it's clawed paws. It smacked Silver back towards Shouta, where he landed with a thud._

_"ARF!" Silver yelped as he hit the ground._

_"Silver!" Shouta shouted, as he crawled to him and hugged him for dear life._

_"Shouta! You have to run!" Engo demanded._

_"NO! I'm not leaving Silver, he's all I have left!" Shouta cried into Silvers fur._

_The creature bounded forward taking the back of Shouta's shirt in it's mouth as it dragged the boy, who still had a firm grip on the wolf, deeper into the forest._

_"Oji-san!" Shouta screamed in panic._

_"Shouta!" Engo called out as he tried to stand only to fall back down._

_"OJI-SAN!" Shouta screamed for the last time, as his voice faded away and traveled on the wind._

_Flashback End~_

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><p>The group sat in silence after the true story on what had happened that night. They had found out that the myth was, in fact, real. They saw the look of anguish on Engos' face as he told the story and he had even started crying. Akaya had tears falling from his eyes, but he paid them no mind as he replayed the story in his head again.<p>

"So the Mythical Creatures are real, aren't they Engo-san." Akaya voice came out a whisper.

"Yes, Akaya, they are more real than you could of ever imagined." Engo answered, his voice strained.

"Engo-san would you like us to show you the marks now?" Sanada brought up the reason they were here in the first place.

"Ah, yes, if you would be so kind." Engo said getting up.

"Engo-san, are you sure you really want to see them?" Yukimura asked the man softly, knowing what would happen if it really were a Mythical Creature.

"I'm positive Yukimura." Engo stated with no hesitation.

The rest got up and Akaya led them into his bedroom and towards his window where he showed Engo the markings.

Engo looked towards the window, and his eyes widened as he stepped forward and stared hard at the markings.

"This is..."

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><p><strong>Hahaha cliffhanger! I'm sorry this is where the 1st official chapter stops! FoC (Forest of Creatures) has been giving me a little bit of trouble lately, but I'll get the hang of this writing thing eventually. So please excuse my updating problems! I've been busy with school lately, and I just finished my semester exams, so I will have more time to work on it. Plus I'm on Christmas break so that should give me some more writing time! I really hope you enjoyed this 1st chapter since it took me a while to write. Again, I'm sorry for the long wait! Oh, and before I forget I'm going to be posting a new story sometime this week so look out for it.<strong>

(1) Tenki means Weather in Japanese. The reason it is called Tenki Valley is because of the weird and strange weather patterns that occur in the valley. It will be mentioned again and most likely visited sometime later in the story.

Also, Shouta called Engo 'Oji-san', because he was like a grandfather to him even when his parents were alive. So naturally Shouta was pretty attached to Engo growing up in the village.

**Pure: Well that went well!**

**Akaya: What the HELL!? A freaking animal was in my room!**

**Yukimura: Akaya, watch your language. *Smiles angelically***

**Akaya: H-Hai Mura-buchou!**

**Niou: Oi Bakaya! Shut up!**

**Akaya: Why don't you Niou-senpai!**

**Niou: What was that?!**

**Jackal: *Sigh* Here we go again...**

**Sanada: Tarundoru!**

**Engo: Well said Sanada, well said.**

**Yukimura: Engo-san?**

**Engo: Yes Yukimura?**

**Yukimura: Do you know what it was?**

**Engo: ... You'll have to wait until the next chapter.**

**Pure: Yeah! No spoilers guys!**

**Marui: You're no fun Pure-chan.**

**Pure: I thought we were friends! *Starts anime crying***

**Sanada: Why am I even here.**

**Yagyuu: Pure writes what she writes Sanada.**

**Pure: At least someone understands. *Pats Yagyuu on the shoulder***

**Yanagi: Well that's all, and we'll see you next time.**

**Akaya: BYE!**

**Pure: Goodbye my lovely readers! Please review and tell me what you think! I need some good encouragement! *Disappears in a cloud of smoke once again***

**Marui: How did she do that?**


End file.
